Japan, US to limit legal protection for base personnel

Some US civilians working on military bases in Japan are likely to lose their protected legal status under planned changes announced Tuesday, as anger rages over the rape and murder of a local woman. The promised moves come after civilian worker Kenneth Franklin Shinzato was charged last month over the death of 20-year-old Rina Shimabukuro on the southern island of Okinawa. About 26,000 US troops are stationed in Okinawa, including at the sprawling Kadena Air Base, and criminal behaviour as well as noise and disruption have long been a thorn in Japanese-US ties.